Hi Sven,

I'd like to get some tropical plants for my garden such as bamboo, palms and ferns but will they survive British weather? And what are the best ones to go for?

Thanks,
Jo

Our Gardens Expert replies:

Hi Jo,

These days 'exotic' plants are common in many gardens - in fact some are so common that they don't seem exotic anymore. Take magnolia for example, a plant you see all over the place, especially in London, has its origins in the U.S.A, Nepal, China, Japan, India, Tibet, Burma, Bhutan and the list goes on. So if that's not exotic I don't know what is!

No exotic garden would be complete without a palm or palm-like plant. The most reliable palm in our climate is the Chusan palm (Trachycarpus fortunii); it will survive temperatures down to -15°C. It is usually single stemmed with huge fan-shaped mid-green leaves that can become massive - up to a metre across. In perfect conditions it can grow up to six or seven metres tall and enjoys sun or partial shade. If that sounds too large don't be put off, it will be happy in a large pot and takes a long time to grow that large, so will work if you have a small garden.

There are smaller varieties such as the miniature chusan palm (Trachycarpus wagnerianus) or the Yunnan dwarf palm (Trachycarpus nanus), which is almost trunk-less, and also an endangered species in the wild so if you can find one it makes a great talking point. I actually had a baby Yunnan dwarf palm, which I entrusted my mum to look after in her conservatory until it was strong enough to cope outside. Unfortunately my mum risked putting it out in the garden and consequently killed it. I was mortified! So my advice is to try and get a mature one that won't need any protection.

A great palm for a smaller garden is Chamaerops humilis which has fan-like leaves. It varies greatly in size depending on conditions from just a few feet tall to six or seven feet. It is not as hardy as the chusan palm and may need some winter protection if not in a sheltered garden.